Phoenix Corrupted Extras
by iamneverwhere
Summary: Short stories from my Phoenix Corrupted AU. See A/N inside for more details.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

Hi, it's been a while. I'm in the process of writing the third year of Phoenix Corrupted, I'm currently working on the fourth chapter, sorry it's going a bit slow. I wrote this when I was stuck but hopefully it'll give you a little bit of background information about the paths that diverged from the canon storyline. It's just some stuff that I didn't really plan on writing into my main story, but hopefully will prove entertaining anyway.

I have a few more characters and plots I want to explore here, but I'll be mostly concentrating on finishing the main story, so I probably won't be updating this very regularly.

As for Phoenix Corrupted, I'm planning on posting the first chapter of the third year sometime next week. I'll probably try and update it once a week and I _think_ I'll be able to post the rest of the third year without too much trouble.

Sorry for making you wait so long for the story, I hope this keeps you happy for now. =)

* * *

James Potter and Sirius Black carefully approached the building, moving slowly, trying not to make a sound under the Invisibility Cloak. They edged close to a window and peered inside.

"I can't see anything." James whispered.

"No." Sirius agreed. "They should be finished by now, right?"

"Wait, someone's coming…" James said suddenly. "Sirius, move!"

They tripped over each other as they tried to move away from the front door and around the corner of the house. Even last year they barely managed to fit under the Cloak together, but they had both grown considerably over the summer. The Invisibility Cloak wasn't meant to be used by two fifteen year old boys at the same time.

The door opened, and the two boys froze, not daring to make a noise. A black haired wizard emerged from the door and took a step forwards before pausing. He turned his head towards the spot the two boys had been standing just moments ago, then he took a deep breath through his mouth.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Black. I'm sure I was told that you two have a detention this afternoon." the man said in a level tone.

James and Sirius let out a groan before they took off the cloak, they looked at the man slightly apologetically and said, "Hello, Professor Riddle…"

"We were just at detention..." James said. "Um..."

"The professor let us out early, said we learned our lesson." Sirius quickly followed, only to have James discreetly try and elbow him in his side.

Tom Riddle raised an eyebrow in amusement, "Professor McGonagall… Let you out of detention early?"

Sirius' eyes widened at the sudden reminder of who they were meant to be serving detention with. "Er… No… I mean..."

"I will speak to her, and reschedule it for tomorrow. I'm sure you have no objections?" Professor Riddle asked with a sly smile.

The two boys nodded in relief. "Can we go inside?"

"Yes, Remus has finished his lessons for today." Riddle said with a laugh. "For once he seemed as eager to finish as you two."

"Thank you professor!" they said, while rushing pass him and into Hagrid's home. They ran up the stairs and stumbled inside a room, not even bothering to knock.

"Remus!" Sirius shouted happily.

The boy in the room, who was sitting by a desk, sorting out sheets of parchment looked up and gave a small exasperated sigh, "I thought you two had detention?"

"It's tomorrow." James said with a grin.

"No I'm pretty sure you said-"

"Don't worry! It's all been sorted out." Sirius gave Remus a friendly clap on the back. "James said he saw a package being delivered here this morning?"

Remus stood up with a glint of excitement in his eyes. "It's here."

He went up to a wardrobe in the corner of the room and took out a package wrapped in brown paper and placed it on the table he had just been working on.

"You haven't opened it yet?" James asked.

"No. Since we all put money towards it, I though I should wait." Remus said.

"Well then Remus, since we're all here..." Sirius said impatiently.

Remus tore open the package revealing a dark wooden box. On the top, carved in ornate golden letters was ' _Aurelius_ _G._ _Marth_ _fish – High Quality Photography Equipment Since 1854_ '. He carefully opened the box to reveal a shiny new camera.

Sirius gave a whistle, "That looks really nice, almost makes me glad your old one broke."

Remus gave his friend a brief scowl before carefully taking the camera out of the box and examined it from all angles and peered through the lens at his two friends. "James… you never told me how much the camera cost..."

"I don't know..." James said evasively, "I just sent all the money to my dad and told him to find the best one he could get."

"James..." Remus began weakly.

"Oh just shut up and accept it Remus," Sirius said cheerfully while rummaging through the box. "That's your Christmas and birthday present from us this year. Besides, we'll probably be borrowing this one as much as your last one."

James scratched his head and said sheepishly, "And we still feel a bit guilty for what happened to that one..."

Remus snorted, "I was stupid enough to go with the plan."

"Yep, you were. Stupid Remus…" Sirius said. He was looking through a booklet he found inside the box. Instructions on how to use the camera. "Oh, by the way. Can you have a look at our Potions homework? There's a bit we don't really get..."

They had been friends for over four years now and both James and Sirius had known about Remus' condition before they had even met. Rumours had spread before the start of the school year that the Headmaster was planning to allow a werewolf into school grounds. James and Sirius were among the very few that found this to be exciting news, and while most of the school chose to stay away from the boy living in Hagrid's house, the two Gryffindor boys didn't hesitate to try and befriend the young werewolf.

Remus had always hated what he was and he almost decided he didn't want to come to Hogwarts, especially when he found out that everybody had discovered what he was hoping to keep a secret. When James Potter and Sirius Black came to visit him for the first time, he was startled to find that they weren't staring at him in disgust and horror, but seemed to find it fascinating. To be completely honest, that had annoyed him as well, making him feel like a curious specimen behind glass walls. He shot out a few clipped answers to the two boys questions then told them he had something to do.

Remus thought that he would never see them again, but he was wrong. They were back again the next day, talking for a while before leaving again. This time they didn't mention his lycanthropy, but just asked about his day and talked about their own. They visited each day and by the weekend, they had even brought over their homework, asking Remus to help them as they sat around Hagrid's huge dining room table. They didn't get much work done that day, but they talked and laughed, eating cake and drinking the tea Hagrid offered them, and Remus made his first two friends.

Their friendship had come a long way since then. Thanks to his two friends, Remus had come to accept his 'furry little problem', as James would call it, talking about it more easily to the people he felt close to.

It started out with an innocent question, "I wonder what you look like when you transform."

Remus just rolled his eyes and said, "I have no idea, I never really bothered to look."

But he did become slightly curious and if James and Sirius really wanted to know, he thought that he wouldn't mind them seeing him as his other self, as long as they weren't hurt in the process.

The first rather foolish idea they came up with was trying to sneak into the cellar, where Remus usually spent the nights of a full moon, underneath James' Invisibility Cloak taking a quick look and leaving before the werewolf became aware of them. They were stopped by a furious Hagrid, who had managed to find the two boys in his house (thanks to Fang), leading them away to the Headmaster and their Head of House and putting them in detentions for the next few weeks. From then on, Hagrid kept a close eye on them during Remus' transformation nights, making sure the boys wouldn't try something like that again.

If they couldn't be there in person, they thought a picture might be better than nothing. Remus would take his camera, which was a gift from his father when he came to Hogwarts, and try to take a picture of himself before he smashed it into bits. There was no question about that part, he was pretty sure he would break it before he turned back human, but they were hoping that the magic strengthening the camera would hold out for a while, and any further damage could be repaired by a simple mending charm.

Remus was almost sure it wouldn't work, but he thought there was no harm in trying. How wrong he was.

He woke up in the morning when Hagrid opened the hatch on the ceiling and called to see if he was okay. Remus called back, saying he was fine and placed his palms on the floor, trying to get up, but he gave a sharp hiss of pain and lifted his left hand, where a small trickle of blood started dripping onto the floor. He saw a jagged piece of black plastic where his hand had been a moment ago and he suddenly remembered what he had tried to do last night. The camera wasn't just broken, it had been absolutely pulverised and the pieces were scattered on the floor. With a tired sigh he tried to gather all the bits, which they later tried to repair with no success.

"This is amazing..." Sirius said flicking through the instruction manual. "It can practically do everything..."

"Like what?" James asked him he was holding the camera now, playing around with some of the switches and buttons.

Sirius looked excited, "It's waterproof, it can take pictures in the dark. It can even take pictures of invisible things! James you said you wanted to know what a Thestral looked like maybe we can take a picture of one… Oh Merlin..."

"What?" Remus asked at Sirius' sudden change in tone.

"Sweet Merlin, thank you..." Sirius mumbled. "It says you can… you can..."

Remus snatched the manual out of Sirius' hand and quickly read the page. "What are you so worked up-. No."

"Yes!" Sirius replied with a grin.

"What is it?" James asked.

"It can take pictures of… what's underneath people's robes..." Sirius said with a smirk.

James choked out a cough and quickly moved towards Remus, reading what his friend was holding. "Really?"

"I seriously doubt that it means that… It must mean you can see if anyone's carrying any concealed weapons or something like that..." Remus said uncertainly.

"I seriously think that it does mean that." his friend replied, taking the camera from James. "I guess we'll just have to try it out… There's that Ravenclaw girl in the seventh year, blonde, blue eyes… Oh and those Hufflepuff twins in the year above…"

"You're being really creepy Sirius." Remus said with a sigh. James just snickered.

"Maybe we can take one of Lily, eh James? I bet you wouldn't mind having a picture of her..." Sirius said mischievously.

James stopped laughing and his face went bright red. "Don't. You. Dare. Sirius Black."

James reached out and tried to take the camera from Sirius' hands but his friend took a step back with a smirk. "Give it here."

"Guys-" Remus said.

"Fine! Not Lily then… Wouldn't want to risk Snape getting into the picture." Sirius laughed. James took another step forwards, hands raised.

"Guys, can you-" Remus tried again.

With a roar, James jumped at Sirius trying to wrestle the camera away from him. They both held on tightly refusing to let go. "James, you just can't take a joke about Lily...!"

"Guys, please. New cam-" Remus looked worried.

"It wasn't funny!" James snapped and with a sharp tug, pulled the camera out of Sirius' grip, but couldn't keep a hold of it himself. It flew backwards and hit the corner of the table before falling to the floor. A single switch snapped off and shot across the room. The three boys just stared at it unable to move.

Sirius broke out of his daze first and moved to pick up the camera while apologising profusely. "Damn, I didn't mean… Sorry Remus."

"We're really sorry..." James said sincerely, moving to pick up the piece that had broken off.

"You know, I expected it to be at least a week before one of us broke something for the first time." Remus sighed dramatically, but with a smile on his lips. "It should be a simple repair, don't worry."

"What do you think broke off?" Sirius asked, checking the rest of the camera for any additional damage.

Remus looked over at the camera then looked down at the manual he was holding. "Next to that button… behind that thing with the squiggly line… I think it's the switch we've just been talking about."

"The naked thing?" James asked.

"I'm sure it's not a 'naked thing', but yes that one." Remus replied.

Sirius held out his hand towards James, "Well, hand it over. I'll fix it."

James stood still. He looked at Sirius and the camera, then at Remus. Then he quickly moved his hand over to his mouth and swallowed something. He let out a hacking cough and spotted a glass of water on the table, grabbed it and drained it all.

"What… what… what did you just do?" Sirius had to ask, despite knowing exactly what his friend had just done.

"Swallowed it." James cleared his throat a few times. "Thanks for the water Remus."

"Why?" Sirius asked with his mouth gaping open.

"We do not have the wisdom to use such powers responsibly." James said with mock seriousness.

Sirius sputtered, "We can't fix it, unless we have the piece!"

"Too bad." James replied nonchalantly.

"Remus! James just ate a piece of your camera! Say something!" Sirius said indignantly.

Remus shook his head. "I suppose it's for the best."

"Sirius, if you _really_ want to fix the camera, you still can, you know?" James said casually, "It's going to have to come out sometimes… As long as you don't mind going through my-"

Remus gave a loud cough trying to suppress a snigger. Sirius just scowled at his friends. Remus opened a drawer on his desk and took out a roll of film, popped open the back of the camera and put it in. He raised it and looked through the lens, focusing on an image of his two friends bickering lightly. At the sound of a slight snap and whirling noise James and Sirius looked up to find their friend with a wide smile.

"Come on, stop arguing and let's go. Sirius, I'll finally prove to you that mermaids are not as pretty as you think they are. How good is your Bubble-Head Charm?" Remus said as he stepped out of his room. James and Sirius grinned and followed him outside.


	2. Chapter 2

Tom Riddle stepped through the grand wooden doors, a smile creeping onto his face. He took in a deep breath and sighed as memories came flooding back, he had enjoyed his time here, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Passing students were eyeing him with curiosity, a few recognising him, leaning over to their friends and exchanging whispers. There were one or two students that looked at him with a sort of admiration, but the majority looked scared, wariness evident in their eyes. Tom resisted the urge to scowl and kept the smile on his face, walking pass them.

He wanted to wander the corridors, visit his old classrooms, but he'd have enough time for that later. For now, he made his way towards the Headmaster's office. His hand brushed up against a pocket of his robes, where there was a letter summoning him to the school. It arrived early in the morning, by owl, surprising him quite a lot and his father even more. He had barely been back in Britain for a week and had kept his return quiet.

"Homecoming." Tom said out loud. The gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's Tower quickly moved aside. He chuckled as he climbed the spiral staircase, perhaps the password was a way of showing that he still had friends here.

"Enter." came the reply as Tom gave three gently knocks on the door. As the door opened, Headmaster Armando Dippet looked up and gave a wide smile at his former student. "Tom Riddle! Come in. Come in. I'm sorry for calling you so suddenly, but I didn't know when you would run off again."

"It is no trouble at all Professor Dippet." Tom took the seat offered by the Headmaster. "Although I was very impressed you knew that I returned."

Dippet gave a good natured chuckled. "There is nothing to be impressed about, I merely have a friend at the Department of Magical Transportation. He mentioned in passing that a Tom Riddle had requested a Portkey back to England. Have you had lunch, Tom?"

When Tom shook his head, the Professor clapped his hands, summoning a house elf, who popped into the office with a pot of tea, two cups and a tray with sandwiches and cakes. Dipped poured the tea, which Tom gratefully accepted. "How have you been, Headmaster?"

"Well enough, well enough." Dipped nodded. "It has been quiet here, compared to the rest of Europe. I suppose you would know better than I. That's where you've been for the past seven years?"

Tom's smile faltered. "I went to India for a while, but yes, for the past few years I've been travelling Europe."

"Terrible… the whole business with Grindelwald." Professor Dippet muttered gravely. "We can only thank Merlin the war has not reached our shores."

"It's only a matter of time..." Tom said without thinking.

Dippet gave him a surprised look, before sighing heavily. "I suppose you are right."

"Forgive me, Headmaster, I didn't mean to..." Riddle's apology was quickly waved off.

"No. Britain is too relaxed, they think the Channel an impenetrable wall that will keep the war away. Those arguing to join the fight against the King of Crows are far too few." Dippet shook his head sadly.

Tom Riddle closed his eyes, terrible memories flashing through his mind. He had seen far too many deaths, Wizards and Muggles alike, all killed in the name of Grindelwald. He tried to help a few, those willing to accept it, but it was like trying to stop the tide with his bare hands. As talented a wizard as he was, he could do little more than save the few people he came across. They needed more than a single wizard, they needed an organised resistance led by someone who could command respect. He had no idea who it could be, but he knew it would not be someone like him. A descendent of Syltherin, a Parselmouth.

He had learned quickly to keep his identity a secret during his travels, but with some difficulty due to his travelling companion, an Indian python he met during his time in the Subcontinent, who he named Nagini. He did make a few friends, as the saying goes the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and there was no greater enemy of this time than Grindelwald.

"Perhaps we should speak of more cheerful things, Professor Dippet." Tom gave him weak smile.

"Yes. Hmm… cheerful things you say? Do you remember Professor Merrythought?" Dippet asked.

"Of course, I enjoyed her lessons very much." Tom nodded fondly. "During my last year there were talks that she might be retiring. Is she still here?"

"Yes she is, I managed to convince her to stay on a while longer, but she insists that this will be her last. I think she means it this time." Dippet chuckled.

"I'm sorry to hear that, she was a very good teacher." Riddle said. "Do you have someone lined up to replace her?"

Professor Dippet let out a cough. "Well now… that's why I asked you to come here."

"...Me?" Tom's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

Dippet laughed cheerfully at his expression. "Why are you so surprised? You left quite an impression on me during your time here, Tom. It's not every day we give out the Special Award for Services to the School."

Tom couldn't completely hide his annoyance at the mention of the incident. It had been on of the few times that the Headmaster had disappointed him, by bowing to the will of the Ministry. "I never felt I deserved that..."

"I know you were never pleased with the outcome." Dippet sighed. "Perhaps with someone like you as Headmaster of this school, the truth would never have been buried."

Tom scoffed. "Someone like me would never become the Headmaster."

"And why is that?" Dippet raised an eyebrow.

"Because no one would allow it. You treated me fairly, as did most of the other professors, but I remember others that were not so kind. You made me Head Boy, and I tried, you know I did, but I don't think Slytherin house can ever stand besides the other three. Some rifts run too deep and they are too old to heal." Tom remembered the expressions of the students he saw in the entrance hall. "Slytherin has never produced a popular Headmaster, and they know I am descended from Salazar himself…"

Professor Dippet shook his head. "It is not where they came from, it is their actions that made them unpo-"

"I object to that statement!" came a voice from the walls.

"I'm sure you do, Phineas…" Dippet said offhandedly, before he turned back to his former student. "Tom, while you were at school you went out of your way to help others, regardless of what house they were sorted into. You were a good boy while you studied here, and if half of what I heard of your exploits in Europe are true, you are still a very good man. I think it is time for a Slytherin Headmaster that will act for the good of the whole school."

"Headmaster? You want me to be Headmaster?" Tom asked incredulously.

"Not for a while at least." Dippet said, completely serious. "But I'm getting on in years, I can't stay here forever… You will have more influence as a professor, you can bring real change to Hogwarts. Changes you started working towards as a student."

"I thought that… Professor Dumbledore would be the one to succeed you." Tom said quietly.

"Ah, Albus Dumbledore. Perhaps he might have made a good Headmaster, but alas, he left us a few years ago. Gone into politics and joined the Ministry." Dippet tutted as if he thought this was a real shame. "I'm surprised you did not know that, there has been a lot of attention towards him recently."

"I haven't been keeping up with the news in Britain that much..." Tom said absently.

"Of course, of course." Dippet took a sip of the cooling tea, then cleared his throat quietly.

Tom blinked and focused on the wizard in front of him. "I'm sorry, I drifted off for a moment there."

Dippet nodded, "Did you have any plans for the future? More travelling, or perhaps you were intending on… joining he war effort?"

"No, I didn't have anything planned… I.." Tom hesitated. "...I returned here when I received word that my father was taken ill."

"Oh dear, nothing too serious I hope?" Dippet frowned.

"No, well, it might have been. I won't go into the details, but I'll just say that I've never been happier to be a wizard." even with magic, it was difficult to travel long distances quickly. Setting up Portkeys across borders was a costly and bureaucratic nightmare, and even though his family was considerably wealthy, the hassle of it irritated him every time, and so he would be out of the country for months. He returned during holidays and other occasions, but mostly he kept in touch with his father by owl post. When he did not hear from his father for several weeks, Tom contacted his friend, who sent word after a few days that his father was currently in a Muggle hospital, fighting for his life.

When he returned, the Muggle doctors told him that there was nothing they could do for him and to expect the worst, so he went to another friend who was a healer, convinced her to dress in Muggle clothing and had her diagnose his father while they visited the comatose man. After a few discreet wand waves and muttered spells, she happily told Tom that it would be treatable. After three days of treatment by potions smuggled into the hospital, Tom Riddle Senior woke up, astonishing all the doctors and nurses that had been looking after the man.

Almost losing his father had terrified Tom, after all he was the only family he had left. His healer friend had insisted that his father would be fine, the man was only in his forties after all, but Tom was reluctant to leave the country again for long stretches of time. He also felt guilty for leaving him alone, ignoring the unhealthy way he was living his life ever since his mother passed. Alcohol had been one of the reasons for his near death experience. He had become reclusive, refusing to leave his family mansion in the village of Little Hangleton, unlike the rest of the residents who slowly began to trickle away ever since the attack almost twenty six years ago.

No, he wouldn't leave the country, but he knew he couldn't just stay to look after his father, the man would kick him out of the house, refusing to be treated as an invalid. He still had his pride. Perhaps taking a teaching job at Hogwarts would suit him, he would be close enough to reach out to his father, while not appearing to be hovering over him. One thing that worried him was the mansion, as the only person still employed in the mansion was a little old Muggle lady almost double his father's age, and not realistically capable of looking after anything.

"I… think I would like to accept the position as the Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts… on one condition." Tom said slowly.

Headmaster Dippet beamed a smile at him, "Anything Tom, what do you need?"

"You wouldn't happen to know anyone in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, would you?" Tom Riddle asked with a smile, imaging his father's reaction. "Specifically, in the Office for House-Elf Relocation..."

* * *

Tom Riddle snorted into his tea and his friend besides him bellowed out a booming laugh, wiping tears from eyes. "Honestly Tom, that's what he said."

Tom chuckled, shaking his head. "Rubeus, you sho-"

There was a knock on the door of Rubeus Hagrid's little hut at the grounds of Hogwarts. Tom was surprised but pleased to find Rubeus still at Hogwarts, working as gamekeeper and assisting Professor Kettleburn with the Care of Magical Creatures class. The Headmaster had promised him the job when Kettleburn retired, which Tom didn't think would be too long, since he was rapidly losing limbs. He thought the incident last year with the school play would have had him sacked for sure, but Professor Dippet agreed to give him a final, _final_ ,chance.

The door opened and the Headmaster poked his head inside with a raised eyebrow, "I hope I'm not interrupting?"

Tom quickly stood up, cursing silently. "Headmaster! What time is it? Are we late…?"

"Really, you two are a terrible influence on each other." Professor Dippet chided them. Tom blushed a bright red, while Rubeus grinned sheepishly. "Well rather than wait for you, we had the staff meeting by ourselves. There was nothing new that we haven't already discussed, but I wanted to introduced the new members of staff that will be starting this year."

He opened the door fully and stepped inside, followed by two witches. They gave the two wizards a friendly nod, then looked around the room with mild interest. They took a seat around the table and one of the witches accepted Rubeus' offer of tea. Headmaster Dippet cleared his throat, "This is Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds, he also assists Professor Kettleburn in his classes. And Professor Tom Riddle, he teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts and is currently Head of Slytherin House."

"Pleased to meet you." the two witches said amiably, but Tom didn't miss the slight narrowing of the eyes from one of the new arrivals when his name and house was mentioned. He had taken over the position from Professor Slughorn, when he retired a year after Tom started teaching. Just thinking about that first year as the head of a house made him cringe. A day into his teaching job, rumours started flying about his connection to one of the founders of the school, so by the time he was put in charge of his house, half of the students were expecting him to rise up, kill the Headmaster and take over the school. He tried to encourage his students to work together with the other houses, but some habits were hard to break. But he wouldn't give up, he just told himself that it would be a long process.

"This is Pomona Sprout, she will be taking over Herbology from Professor Beery" Professor Dippet had a thoughtful expression, "I'm sure she would have been at Hogwarts the same time as you two."

"Erm..." Hagrid scrunched up his face in thought.

"Oh..." Tom scratched his head in embarrassment as he desperately tried to remember.

Pomona gave a little laugh. "Don't worry, I was a few years below you two and I was quite quiet then. I do remember you two though."

"Good, good." Dippet gave them a smile, "And finally, Minerva McGonagall, who will be taking over Transfiguration lessons from Professor Cunstable."

Minerva gave them a curt nod. Tom smiled at her, "Were you at Hogwarts with us as well?"

"Mr. Hagrid was in his seventh year when I was sorted. I think you left a few years before." Tom grinned at her crisp Scottish accent. She returned a raised eyebrow.

"How is Professor Cunstable, by the way?" Tom asked.

"Erm… the healers are doing all they can. He should be back on his feet in no time." the Headmaster stood up, "Now, why don't you stay a while and get to know one another? I'm afraid I have some work that needs doing."

"Why did happen to my predecessor? The Headmaster was rather vague on the matter." Minerva asked when Professor Dippet let the room.

Hagrid snorted and Tom also tried to suppress a snigger. "Ah, it was a little mishap with human transfiguration. He was trying to show off to his N.E.W.T. students and got stuck as a… what would you describe it as Rubeus?"

"I don't think there's a name for it yet, although I'm sure there was a camel in there somewhere." Rubeus chuckled.

"Human transfiguration can have unreversable consequences when it goes wrong!" Minerva's nostrils flared. "I don't see what you find so amusing."

"Sorry, we realise that. It's just that... he sort of brought it on himself." Tom explained, his hands raised defensively. "He's rather arrogant and none of the staff really like him."

Hagrid nodded. "You can't really blame him though, he was the only one the Headmaster could find after Dumbledore left and those are rather big shoes he had to fill."

"He is one of the best practitioners of Transfiguration alive today, Dumbledore I mean." Tom said. "No one is expecting you to be as good as he was, so just relax and do your best."

Minerva scowled at him and Pomona gave a little giggle. "I think you're underestimating my friend here. She may not be Albus Dumbledore, but she is rather good. You must know the journal _Transfiguration Today_? well she was mentioned in that."

"Really?" Tom looked impressed.

"Yes I was." Minerva said shortly.

Pomona nudged her, "Go on, show them!"

"What?" Tom and Rubeus both asked.

Minerva let out a sigh of exasperation and rolled her eyes. "She wants me to show you this..."

With a faint pop, Minerva McGonagall transformed herself into a tabby cat and leapt onto the table. As Pomona cheered her friend's extraordinary show of talent, the cat gazed into Tom's eyes with an awfully smug expression.

Tom blinked several times, before he started laughing in delight. "Oh my, you _are_ brilliant!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

Quick note, this chapter is set around the same time as Year 4 Chapter 13 of my main story. It won't really make much sense if you haven't been following my main story, but feel welcome to read it anyway!

* * *

Remus stopped as he reached the door, taking in the sight before him with a wistful expression on his face. "Remus, is something wrong?"

The werewolf turned and smiled at his closest friend standing behind him. "No, nothing's wrong, Sirius. I'm just… I probably shouldn't say I'm happy, considering why we're here… but I'm… glad for a reason to finally have a chance to go inside."

"What?" Sirius frowned. "You've never been aboard the Hogwarts Express?"

Remus raised an eyebrow, "I wasn't allowed as a… 'student', you know that."

"I do… But I would have thought, given you've been practically living at Hogwarts since then, that you must have been on it at least once." Sirius said.

"Well, you just said it, haven't you? I've been living there, so why would I need to get on the train?" Remus said with a sad shrug. "Portkeys or Side-Along-Apparition until I turned seventeen. After that I could move about on my own."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sirius demanded, "We would have sneaked you onto the train at least once! We could have used James' cloak to do it!"

"And we would have all gotten in trouble for it." Remus sighed. He shook his head to clear his mind, took a deep breath and opened the door. They entered into a warm and cosy little room. It was empty, but there was a fire roaring in the fireplace. Remus looked around appraisingly, "They really go all out for the Tournament, don't they?"

"The trips between King's Cross and Hogsmeade were never this nice." Sirius said in an attempt to cheer up his friend, even though they both knew it wasn't about how nice the train was. It was about sitting and laughing with friends as they stared at the passing countryside, spending their pocket money on snacks as they excitedly discussed what the new school year had in store for them, or what they were planning to do during the summer.

Remus still appreciated the gesture and smiled at his friend, "I'm sure you're right."

A door to the side opened and the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Tom Riddle stepped out to greet them. "Remus, Sirius. No trouble getting here?"

"No, Headmaster." Remus replied.

"No trouble with your work, I hope?" Tom asked seriously.

"Well, the person Remus works for forced him to take a week long holiday." Sirius smirked as he gave his friend a little nudge. His grin faded when Professor Riddle stared at him expecting a proper answer. He shrugged, "I can deal with it."

Tom looked at him worriedly, "It's important to have an eye on the goings on in the Minis-"

"Harry's more important." Sirius said simply. "I know you only asked for Remus, but I couldn't just stay behind knowing what Harry went through. I hate that I wasn't there on the day..."

"By all accounts he was remarkable. I had my reservations about the Auror internship, but both you and Alastor seem to know what you're doing." Tom said and the two men looked slightly surprised.

"How is he?" Remus asked.

Tom considered the question. "Slightly better than some of the others, but he's been a bit quiet since they all returned home."

"Have you spoken to him about the attack?" Sirius asked.

Tom sighed. "No. He has been… slightly distant ever since Christmas. He smiles and tells me he's fine, but I can't say I'm not worried for him. I'm hoping you have better luck getting through to him."

"Where is he?"

"Up in his room. I haven't told him you were coming, I thought he could use a pleasant surprise..." a grin crept onto Sirius' face as Tom told them how to get to Harry's room. "Bring him downstairs in about ten minutes, I'll have the house elves fix us something for dinner."

"Oh, before I forget." Remus pulled something out of his pocket. "A letter from Professor McGonagall."

Tom took the letter and looked at it fondly. "Thank you Remus. Go say hello to Harry now."

They dropped their bags, containing simply a few change of clothes, and headed up the stairs. Sirius let out a low whistle as he took in magically extended train, "This _really_ is much nicer..."

As they reached the door, Sirius grabbed Remus' arm as he was about to knock. The werewolf let out a snort and whispered, "What are you up to?"

Sirius hushed him with a finger over his mouth and dug around his pockets for something. He first took out his wand and cast a spell at the door, then he took out a mirror and said loudly, "Harry Potter."

Remus rolled his eyes, but joined his friend as the mirror flickered into life, showing Harry Potter sitting on his bed, absently petting his beautifully white owl. His bright green eyes, Lily's eyes they both thought unconsciously, blinked and he smiled at them. A smile that looked slightly too forced, "Hi Sirius. Hi Remus. What are you two doing together?"

"Oh, we just wanted to see how you were doing." Sirius' smile faded slightly, he felt less certain about his little joke after seeing Harry.

Harry's grin widened, but not in a way Sirius and Remus was happy to see. "I'm doing okay. Just feeling a little bored, everyone's gone home for a while."

"Well, we have nothing better to do, so why don't we keep you company for a bit?" Sirius said and gave a slight nod to Remus.

Harry let out a small laugh, "Sure. You can keep me company until I go to bed. Or go to sleep actually, I'm already on my bed."

Sirius frowned, "Have you had anything to eat?"

"I… had a big lunch." at that moment, Remus gave a few sharp knocks on the door and Harry looked relieved, "Hold on, I think Professor Riddle's at the door."

Sirius watched as Harry stood up and walked over to the door. The door clicked open and Harry froze, his eyes widening in shock. He stared at them, then down at the mirror he was holding, then back up at Sirius and Remus, who were grinning at him.

Sirius laughed as he came forwards to hug the boy. "Surprised to see us?"

"B..b..but… how?" Harry finally managed to sputter as Sirius pulled away. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Remus ruffled the already messy hair and smiled fondly. "We're here to see you."

Harry stared at them, his eyes shining. He ducked his head and moved away from the door. Harry didn't look up and when he spoke, there was a crack in his voice, "T..thank you… both of you… Erm… do you want to come in for a bit?"

* * *

"It was good to meet you, Mr. Black. Mr. Lupin." Corinne said as she stood. Harry followed suit.

"It was very nice to meet you too, Miss Lansquenet." Sirius said, sending a wry smirk at Harry.

"Yes, it was." Remus nodded in agreement. When Corinne turned to face Harry the werewolf shot his friend a look of warning.

"I'll walk you to the carriage." Harry said and Sirius quickly covered his mouth and pretended to cough to cover up his snort of amusement.

"Are you alright, Mr. Black?" Corinne looked at him worriedly.

"Fine. Fine." Sirius let out a deep breath and tried to fix a serious expression on his face. He wasn't very successful. "The weather over here isn't really agreeing with me..."

"Yes, it does take some getting used to..." Corinne replied absently.

Harry blushed slightly as he took Corinne's hand. He turned to face them, "I'll be back in a bit."

"T..take as much time as you n..need Harry..." Sirius managed to choke out.

Harry went completely red but gave a small nod before leaving the Hogwarts Express with Corinne. Remus rounded on his friend, giving him a sound thwack on the back of his head. Sirius fell to the floor, his hands covering his face as he howled with laughter. "O..o..oh, M..Merlin… H..Harry… Harry is..."

"Oh, grow up Sirius." Remus snapped at him. "You were embarrassing him."

"Me? Embarrassing?" Sirius finally stopped his laughter and grinned up at his friend while he lay flat on his back. He sighed happily. "A girlfriend… He's all grown up, isn't he?"

Remus let out a snort, "So according to you, having a girlfriend is a sign of growing up? Well then, he's practically ancient compared to us two..."

"I meant having his _first_ girlfriend." Sirius raised his head to glare at him for a moment before he fell back with a soft thud. "But you're right… Bloody hell… How long has it been since I was in a relationship?"

"Well, how long does it have to last to be called a relationship and not a fling?" Remus mused out loud.

Sirius grabbed the nearest thing he could get his hands on, a piece of toast that he had dropped when Harry had first introduced his _girlfriend_ during their late breakfast. Remus lazily dodged it and Sirius scowled, "Well... You're not doing any better, are you?"

"Hi, I'm Remus Lupin. _Werewolf_." Remus said with an exasperated sigh, "What's your excuse?"

Sirius snorted as he stood up, dusting himself off. "I keep telling you, there are plenty of ladies that don't care about your furry little problem. If you're that worried about it, I can definitely think of one or two that would be able to restrain you, even after you transform. With their bare hands."

"I think I'll pass." Remus took a sip of tea. "What do you think of her?"

"Who, Corinne?" Sirius smirked. "She seems nice enough. Harry seems to really like her. Why? You think there's something wrong with her?"

"I'm just worried, that's all… In a few months they'll both be heading home. And the fact that she's a bit older than him..." Remus looked thoughtful. "Something Professor Riddle said as well. He seemed a bit surprised at how easily Harry became attached to her."

"When did he say that?" Sirius asked. "I didn't even know about her..."

"When you were practising duelling with Harry yesterday. We talked while we were watching you..." Remus told him.

"He'll be fine. Probably." Sirius said with a firm nod. "The first break up is almost as important as the first girlfriend."

Remus rolled his eyes, "I guess you would know."

He didn't see the half eaten, dusty slice of bacon that came flying towards his head.

* * *

"...Look, I can already tell by your expressions..." Harry bit his lip. "If I did something… I want to know..."

Remus and Sirius had half expected this question and they had prepared to shamelessly lie about it in order to keep Harry from worrying, but the question had caught them off-guard. One moment, Harry was laughing and joking with them, but then before the mirth faded from the men's expressions, he had hit them with the question.

Remus spoke softly, "Harry. What you did that day-"

"I remember, there were four of them..." Harry said with a frown. "Are they all..."

Remus looked at Sirius and they both let out a sigh. "They were taken to a hospital..."

"Then they're fine?" a hint of a smile appeared on Harry's face before it faded just as quickly. "No. If they were fine, you wouldn't be so reluctant to tell me..."

"One died from his wounds. But Harry-" Sirius quickly interrupted the boy as he opened his mouth. "-he was already injured before you did what you did…"

Harry shook his head, stood up and started pacing the room. "Are you seriously saying having a roof dropped on his head didn't do anything?"

"Harry, what we're saying is that you were fighting for your life. A lot of people were hurt, even killed that day, and the blame solely lies with those that perpetrated the attack." Remus reached out for Harry, but the boy brushed his arm away and continued his agitated walk around the room.

"Harry. Can you please sit down and do something for me?" Sirius said quietly but firmly to the distressed boy. Harry reluctantly plopped back into the armchair and stared out into space with a bleak look on his face. "Harry, can you close your eyes. Trust me, please..."

Harry looked at him for a long time before nodding slightly. Then he let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. "What now?"

"Okay. Now, Harry, I want you to tell me everything you remember from that day. From the moment the ship broke the surface of the water to when the Portkey took you away. Every single little detail you can remember." Sirius said quietly.

Harry scrunched up his face and slowly began to speak. Once he got going it became slightly easier for him. After all, the day had started out pretty well as a little fun outing for him and his friends. The boy faltered slightly, as he reached the part of his story when he first saw the Krähenkönigs Zeugen through the screen. The two men quietly encouraged the boy to keep going. Both Sirius and Remus had only heard parts of the details from that day and listening to James' son recount the story made them equally horrified and immensely proud of the fourteen year old boy.

"-and then I touched the Portkey and we were sent to… Actually I have no idea where we were, but we waited there for about half an hour then we took another Portkey back here." Harry finished with a shaky breath. Going through the events of that day again had evidently taken a lot out of him, and the two men knew that it showed a lot of trust on Harry's part to open up to them. Harry opened his eyes to two little smiles full of emotion, that showed how much he meant to the werewolf and the Auror sitting opposite him.

"That was great Harry." Remus said.

"It really was." Sirius agreed. Harry smiled back at them uncertainly. "Now, can you-"

Sirius asked Harry to close his eyes and go back to the part where he started climbing the stairs, when he stunned the Zeuge and held the roof up alongside Hermione. "-the Levitation Charm… I had to concentrate, really concentrate, on holding it up. We were wondering what we should do and then we looked outside..."

"What did you see." Sirius quickly asked. "Every single little detail, you must have seen a lot from that high up."

They watched Harry consider this for a moment. "Fred, George, Angelina, Cedric and the others, crouching behind the trees. They had meant to take the Witnesses by surprise, but they failed. The same thing happened to Cori… The Beauxbatons students, a few of them were… on the ground. They looked badly hurt..."

"What about the Zeugen? How did they seem?" Sirius asked.

"They were laughing." Harry said instantly, "Even though they were surrounded, they didn't care. They still thought they were going to win..."

"What did you think?" Remus asked softly.

Harry didn't speak for a minute. He lowered his head onto his hands and covered his face. There was a tremor in his voice when he spoke again, "I..I thought they were… I was scared, terrified, that someone was going to die..."

Both Remus and Sirius felt a sharp pain in their chest at the quiet sob coming from Harry. They quickly stood up and crouched down next to the boy, placing a consoling hand around his shoulder and on his back,

"Harry, you reacted like an Auror would do." Sirius said soothingly. Harry was letting out little sniffles, his face still covered in his hands.

"I killed someone." Harry croaked.

"No, you saved someone." Remus said without hesitation. "When you released the Levitation Charm, you weren't thinking about the Zeugen, you were thinking about the people they were trying to kill. You did what you had to do, in order to save the lives of your friends."

Harry sat there, frozen and silent for what seemed like an age. "Am I… am I a good person?"

"Of course you are." Sirius and Remus both said without hesitation, but they shared an uneasy look over Harry's head.

"But… what about..." Harry suddenly clamped his mouth shut. He still refused to raise his head and meet their gaze and just quietly muttered, "I'm trying… I'm really trying..."

"What do you mean?" Remus gently squeezed the boy's shoulders.

Harry discreetly tried to take off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. When he straightened up, Remus and Sirius didn't mention the damp streaks still clinging under his red rimmed eyes. He let out a shuddering breath and his face steeled with determined resolve. "I want to be an Auror. I want to help people. I want to stop Grindelwald and any of his followers from hurting people..."

Remus fixed a proud smile on his face, but he couldn't help feeling a sense of apprehension. The damned prophecy. The Headmaster had only revealed it to a few people, including Remus and Sirius. Sirius had dismissed it outright, saying there was no way Harry would turn out that way. Professor Riddle had also been unconvinced, especially given the information had come from Kendra Dumbledore. He thought it might have been a ploy by her father to place young Harry under his control and given Albus Dumbledore's actions over the past few years, Remus had thought the same when he first heard.

However, over the summer Kendra had genuinely acted with the goal of freeing Harry from the Nullificare Charm. She worked against her own father and even revealed very privileged information about his plans that helped the Headmaster sway the minds of the people deciding on Harry's punishment.

Remus recalled the moment he first saw Harry when he stepped off the train last September and it had shaken him. He looked weak and pale. There was a dull coldness in his eyes that made Remus want to abandon his duties and run to the boy that he loved as if he were his own flesh and blood. The thoughts of the prophecy, which he had dismissed and forgotten a few weeks prior, came crashing down, leaving him feeling like he'd been hit with a Confundus Charm. He just managed to remember Professor Riddle's firm insistence not to reveal anything to Harry and held himself back.

Remus wasn't sure if keeping Harry in the dark was a good idea, but he had accepted Professor Riddle's plan. Try and keep Harry safe and give him the time to enjoy his life like a boy his age should. There was a slight setback when Harry had agreed to go the Durmstrang and then to join Sirius on his Auror duties, which had Sirius on the receiving end of Riddle's temper. By the time half the year had passed without much incident, which was surprising given Harry's past, it seemed like Harry would reach the summer for once without the need to fight for his life. But that was before the attack happened.

Sirius was grinning broadly and Remus suppressed a sigh. He felt envious of his friend's ability to be unfazed by the prophecy. Sirius' words had merit, "For something like that to come about, it will have to be by Harry's own actions. Hundreds and thousands of little choices that he will make and I'm confident that he'll make the right ones. And if he stumbles a bit, we'll be there by his side to help him up. He won't go wrong, I'd stake my life on it."

It was a stirring speech and Remus didn't dare contradict his friend. It was true, but sometimes things happened that took away your choices, hiding the 'right' ones with pain and struggle. His secret desire to get on the Hogwarts Express wasn't the only thing he kept from Sirius and James. There were times, after his worst transformation, that he crouched naked in Hagrid's cellar, crying until his voice was hoarse. There were times when he walked the grounds in the days after the full moon, feeling such hunger to spread the lycanthropic curse on those that gazed upon him with such contempt. There were times he wanted to leave the education that Tom Riddle was kind enough to provide him and run away to hide somewhere where he would never see another soul. There were times he wished it would just end.

But Sirius had been there for him and so had James. And now it was time for Remus to step up. He gave a slight nod at Sirius and turned a broad smile at the fourteen year old boy, the son of James and Lily Potter, "Harry, you _are_ a good person. The fact that you feel so guilty about this proves the point and you don't need to become an Auror to show it. But if that is what you want Harry, we will support you. It won't be easy, becoming an Auror, but I know you'll have the determination to see it through. And always remember Harry, we'll be here for you, whatever you need, whenever you need it. You just have to come and ask."

When Harry launched himself at the werewolf, Remus hugged him back and held on tightly for a long time.

* * *

 **A/N**

Okay first of all, I have to say thank you and my sincerest apologies to the mysterious reviewer 'M' who left such a lovely and positive review that I've completely failed to respond to until now! If you're still sticking with my story, thank you so much! It's just that I don't get that much of a chance to update this and I... just completely forgot to write a response when I put up the second chapter.

Welcome to those that have just come over from Phoenix Corrupted! I like writing these stories, they're a bit of fun I don't need to concentrate as hard as when I write my main, although this last chapter was a bit of an exception. But I quite liked this, having a parallel chapter. I may do a few of these again in the future if I can make the time for it.

Just out of curiosity, and this is definitely not a promise to do so, are there any characters that you'd like me to write about for the PCExtras? I wanted to do more Riddle's and I've been planning a Fabian/Gideon/Kasper chapter for _ages_. But working on my main story doesn't really give me a lot of time here...

Just one more thing, I've been trying to think of a decent summary for my PCExtras (the one I have right now is atrocious), but I have no idea what to write, any advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated!

I really hope you enjoyed it and I'd obviously love it if you could review, either here or on my main story! Or both! =D

I'll just mention it again, but the next chapter of my main story will be updated in two weeks. And PCExtras... well honestly, I have no idea when it's going to be updated. Well, thanks again for reading, and I'll see you later!


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